


Don't Look Back

by AKMars



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2012-12-02
Packaged: 2017-11-20 01:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKMars/pseuds/AKMars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Careful what you look for....you just may find it." -H. Finch, Number Crunch</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Look Back

Title: Don’t Look Back  
Rating: G  
Characters: Harold Finch, John Reese, Grace Hendricks  
Genre: Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort  
Words: 1195

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The first time Reese returned to the library; finding Harold staring morosely at his computer screen, Bear's head ensconced in his lap, John had been puzzled. He'd asked his partner outright if he was okay...several times in fact before the question had penetrated Finch's brown study and been rewarded at last with a terse "Fine, Mr. Reese."

The op shrugged, chalking it up as yet another of the recluse's mercurial mood swings. 

By the third time however, Reese was determined to find an answer. Whatever the cause of his depression, the periods of unsettled behavior were increasing in length. John had become so attuned to Harold's emotional state since his abduction by the sociopathic Root; that even the slightest change in his ’normal’ patterns was cause for concern. _This_ new trend however, bordered on disturbing.

He renewed covert surveillance on his friend. Now that Bear accompanied the recluse everywhere he went on the ’outside’; Reese found it difficult to remain hidden. He’d grown complacent in his abilities to track mere humans without detection. Now he had to constantly be aware of air currents in order to keep downwind of his quarry. Of not touching random objects that might cause the dog to react to his scent and tip Finch off to the op’s presence.

Three months to the day since that first tail, Reese found what he was looking for. John recognized the park immediately. He and Finch had discussed his meeting with Grace and Harold’s history with the love he had chosen to leave behind, here. When he saw Finch peering over the edge of a sign, he looked in the same direction; spying the slender, red-haired woman as she locked her door and, shouldering her portfolio, headed out in search of new subjects to capture in watercolors.

John was about to disappear; content to leave the older man to his memories when Finch began to follow Grace at what was for him, a discreet distance. The op continued to shadow his partner; by this time almost as curious as Harold as to the woman’s activities. 

_Casual stroll down ‘her’ street...window shopping, small smile as she passed a shabby-chic coffee bar. Pause by a flower vendor to admire some orchids and exchange pleasantries with the woman arranging her wares...turning down another street and approaching the river front._

Reese ducked into a convenient doorway as Grace turned to look about her, a slight frown creasing her brows....almost as if she were searching for someone. _She’s still looking for Finch...._ he thought.... _even after all this-_

John’s eyes widened as Grace’s face relaxed into a big smile, one that caused her to glow with happiness; her expression radiating pure pleasure. A man approached her from the opposite corner, his own face alight with joy. He was taller than her, slightly older but any resemblance between him and her lost fiancé' ended there. His hair was black, his eyes brown; if the op had to guess he would have said ‘of Italian descent’. He was dressed in jeans and a dark gray sweater; a battered leather jacket and brown loafers completing his look of casual stylishness.

When the newcomer reached Grace he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up; portfolio, paintbox and all. She laughed at his exuberance, clutching his shoulders and leaning down to give him a very thorough kiss. John felt his own heart break a little and looked around for his friend. _There....._

Finch stood out in the open, oblivious to the fact that he was in plain view; his eyes fixed on the happy couple before him. Bear sat at his side. Although John was too far away to hear the dog’s vocalizations, he could tell the animal was agitated from the way he looked up at the man; ears twitching and his front paws shifting with the restless urge to discover what was wrong.

Harold’s expression was a mixture of pure misery and disbelief. Here was Grace, _his Grace_ , in the arms of another man....kissing him, pressing her forehead to his as they whispered endearments to one another....letting the man shoulder her burdens, tuck her hand into his elbow and lead her away....from the past, _from him_.

Reese could have left at this point...melted back into the crowds of pedestrians, unseen by Finch and pretend he’d not been witness to this second loss on the recluse’s part. He could have _and yet he couldn’t._ John found himself moving up to stand at Harold’s side; close enough to be supportive yet not touching the man. Bear yipped happily, his tail wagging at the appearance of his other packmate.

The dog’s reaction pulled Finch out of his reverie with a start. When he realized who was next to him, the billionaire struggled to bury his reaction, knowing it was a lost cause even as he tried to surreptitiously wipe the moisture from his eyes. Finch didn’t say anything, just turned to walk away when he felt Reese’s hand on his arm.

“Harold?”

The wealth of concern in his friend’s voice stopped the smaller man in his tracks. One word, his name, filled with such empathy and compassion as only a heart bathed equally in the same sorrow could express. He turned back to the op but refused to make eye contact. Finch’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I knew it would happen eventually. How could it _not_? Grace draws love to her just by being the person that she is....it’s what pulled me to her.” Harold managed a slight smile. 

“ _Knowing_ it could happen and seeing it happen in front of you are different things, though.” John’s voice was quiet, remembering his meeting with Jessica in the airport....seeing her ring and learning of her engagement from her own lips.

“Yes....” the recluse gave a shudder, “yes they are....” his voice caught as he stifled a sob. He shook his head, deploring his perceived weakness in allowing his emotions to overcome him. The op’s hand on his shoulders, fingers gently grasping him to offer silent comfort, did much to steady him.

“Come on...” John steered him back in the direction they’d both come.

“Where are we going?” Finch’s question was perfunctory, he found he didn’t really care.

“To my loft...”

“I’d rather be a-”

“I’m _not_ leaving you alone Harold.” The insistence in his op’s voice roused Finch out of his pit of despair; anger pricking his skin.

“Why, so you can pry and prod at me? Watch me _rage_ at the injustice of it all?”

John waited, with infinite patience for the recluse’s anger to purge. His sapphire eyes reflected shared loss; pain remembered and even greater in its way to Finch’s own.

“No, because my friend needs me... _and because I need him._ ”

The words, spoken in a tone so soft that he almost didn’t catch them, went straight to Harold’s heart; reaching him when nothing else could. Providing a lifeline he could cling to as he worked through what he’d just witnessed. And he understood at last that by offering a homeless, alcohol-soaked ex-CIA agent a job two years ago he‘d not only given hope to John Reese but to himself as well.

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NOTES: I was mulling around where I thought ‘PoI’s writers might go with the Grace/Harold arc, which in itself led me to thoughts of alternate possibilities. I know some have speculated that Root might capture Grace, she may perhaps die or be reunited with Finch.

I honestly felt sad for Finch when he was watching Grace from afar at the beginning of ‘Til Death’. It struck me as tragically obsessive on his part and made me consider the possibility that perhaps something as simple and mundane as being able to move on could take her from Harold.


End file.
